On any other day, the salvo of optimistic Mnuchin headlines on US-China trade would have been sufficient to ignite an instant burst higher in the S&P 500. MNUCHIN SAYS U.S. EXPECTS TRADE TALKS WITH CHINA IN JANUARY MNUCHIN: U.S. WORKING TO CONFIRM `SEVERAL' MEETINGS WITH CHINA MNUCHIN: U.S., CHINA AIM TO `DOCUMENT AN AGREEMENT' BY MARCH 1 Only not this time, because perhaps in retaliation for Mnuchin's earlier comments that he would crack down on the very same HFT algos that he so desperately needs to jawboning the market higher, stocks briefly rose, then qujickly slumped to session lows. “We’re in the process of confirming the logistics of several meetings and we’re determined to make sure that we use the time wisely, to try to resolve this,” Mnuchin said. Both sides are now focused on trying “to document an agreement” by a March 1 deadline for their current tariffs truce to run out. “We expect there will be meetings in January,” he said. Previously the administration hadn’t been specific on the timing of talks. Furthermore, in what was likely a smallish fabrication, Mnuchin tried to ignite a little more upside momentum when he said that neither he nor President Donald Trump were aware of the arrest of Huawei's CFO when they met with China’s Xi Jinping for dinner on Dec. 1, the same day the company’s chief financial officer was arrested in Canada. While the above statement, unbelievable as it may have been, would serve to boost risk prices, it was offset when Mnuchin sought to play down the president’s declaration last week that he would be willing to intervene on Huawei’s behalf if it was necessary to help reach a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies. “We’ve been very clear and China understands that these are separate tracks,’’ Mnuchin said. Net: stocks initially pushed higher, then dipped in what may be a stark warning to the Trump admin of just what will happen to stocks - and future attempts to jawbone them higher - if indeed Mnuchin goes after the "high-freaks", as we said he would during the same Bloomberg interview earlier in the day.